Securing the Home Front From IoT Attacks

Arris International recently launched its first broadband gateway that uses McAfee's Secure Home Internet.

With an eye on curbing consumer cyberattacks, the new Surfboard SBG7580-AC combines a gigabit DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem, an 802.11ac Wi-Fi router, and a four-port gigabit Ethernet hub along with the McAfee home Internet security center, which requires an annual subscription. This combination protects smart appliances, thermostats, sound systems, energy management, security cameras, and other home devices connected to a residential network by helping stop malware, phishing, and other threats from reaching them.

As noted in the press release, a McAfee study found that 81% of consumers consider security of their online identities and Internet-connected devices to be important. Consumers realize that their homes are potential targets, too -- if not for personal exploitation then as a path for attacks against other consumers or businesses, including their employers.

They're not off base, as the reality is that any Internet-connected device is a potential target. This is why partnerships between security companies such as McAfee and hardware manufacturers make sense. A stand-alone firewall doesn't guarantee protection or leave a business or consumer without vulnerabilities.

Arris explained in more detail:

Firewalls are built to block or allow specific types of traffic. For example, you would have a firewall rule that says, "Only allow traffic on ports 80, 8080 and 443." However, consumer routers don't contain the horsepower to look into that traffic to see if it contains malicious content. A home user could click on a link to download a file and the firewall would have no idea if that file were infected with malware or not. With ARRIS Secure Home Internet by McAfee, we can block what would appear to a firewall as legitimate traffic if it were to or from a dangerous location.

And yes, all data and traffic going through SBG7580-AC w/McAfee will be under the watch of McAfee's Global Threat Intelligence cloud.

Consumers need to step up on their end and provide adequate protection, despite the challenges.

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